Admittedly, most folks in the United States aren’t very concerned about dengue infection. But for those areas where dengue is a problem, word about a new treatment from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) should be a winner. In fact, it was enough of a winner to give Johnson & Johnson a slight boost in share prices in Friday afternoon’s trading.
The treatment in question is an oral therapy known as JNJ-1802, and based on the results of a Phase 2a “human challenge” study, it’s got quite a bit of potential. The reports from the trial suggest that there were “…dose-dependent antiviral effects compared to those on placebo…” over the course of a 26-day study in which patients received a dose every day. Trial subjects started out healthy and then were given a “weakened” form of dengue 3. JNJ-1802 not only helped out but proved safe and well-tolerated throughout the testing.
That’s good news in and of itself, but that’s not all Johnson & Johnson had to bring out. It also announced the results of new tests for its psoriasis treatment, Tremfya. The latest results note that Tremfya can now be used across all skin tones, as it recently underwent the first-ever large psoriasis study on people of color. The results were sufficiently solid that Tremfya can now be reliably offered to all races, with 57% of patients achieving at least 90% clearance within four months.
Is Johnson & Johnson a High-Risk Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on JNJ stock based on seven Buys and 10 Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average JNJ price target of $177.77 per share implies 15.78% upside potential.
